China vows to stamp out food safety scandals

China has vowed to stamp out major food safety scandals in three years after fears surfaced that athletes might underperform at the Olympics because they were avoiding eating potentially contaminated meat.

Chunxia Chen of China dives for a shot during Beach VolleyballPhoto: GETTY

On Tuesday, China's cabinet, known as the State Council, unveiled a 3-year plan to counter an ongoing avalanche of food scandals ranging from fake pigs ears to yogurt laced with rotten leather and, this week, beer brewed with hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde.

The plans include "heavier punishments" and a blacklist for offending food manufacturers and the creation of a public database monitoring companies' safety records.

The announcement followed reports that Chinese athletes ran the risk of underperforming at the London Olympics later this month because they were deliberately avoiding meat.

Speaking to local media on Sunday, the coach of China's female volleyball team blamed a string of recent defeats on the team's self-imposed meat fast, designed to stop players ingesting clenbuterol, a chemical widely used in China to make meat leaner, faster but which is outlawed by the International Olympic Committee.

"We dare not eat meat when competing outside [of our home base] for fear of clenbuterol … and it does affect our strength," coach Yu Juemin said, after his team suffered four defeats in quick succession to Brazil, Turkey, Thailand and the US.

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Reports about shocking and often bizarre cases of contamination or adulteration appear in the Chinese media on an almost daily basis.

On Tuesday the Legal Daily newspaper reported that police in northeast China had arrested 6 people behind a £1.3m "fake beer" racket. Police claim the gang used hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde to produce counterfeit beer, including the country's flagship Tsingtao lager.

Wu Heng, the Shanghai-based founder of a website that monitors food scandals, said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the government's 3-year plan but noted it had not released a timetable or specific details.

"The food safety issue has caught the attention of high-ranking officials. Never before has it been [dealt with] at such senior a level," said Mr Wu, whose website, 'Throw it out the window', receives millions of hits each month from worried consumers.

"This is not a fundamental change, a landmark, but it shows the change of the wind," he added, describing new plans to link food safety to the promotion prospects of local officials as progress.

Mr Wu said harsher punishments were needed to deter "blackhearted food-producers [who] are not properly punished."